How to get to Bachotek

Contents

By plane to Warsaw or Bydgoszcz

Participants arriving from overseas will probably fly into the Warszawa (WAW) Fryderyk Chopin airport: the national carrier (whatever this means nowadays) is LOT. Many other carriers (e.g., British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa) fly to Warszawa. Low fares airlines also operate Warsaw routes. The airport closest to Bachotek (about 120 km) is Bydgoszcz (BZG). At the time of this writing (March 2010) there are several carriers and flights operating to this airport, especially from and to UK. When shopping for deals, instead going directly to an airline's web site you can try the services of the many available travel portals.

From the airport, delegates may choose one of the convenient but not cheap private transportations to the main train station, see, e.g., here.

The number 175 public transport bus is a cheaper option (cost: 4.40 PLN, transport of luggage is free, the ticket might be bought at one of airport news stand), but the journey by this means may pose some dangers, particularly to those travelling with large quantities of luggage, exposed wallets, documents, etc...

Of course you may take a taxi to the Warszawa Centralna station, the ride will cost you about 30-40 PLN.

At the railway station there are possibilities for exchanging money (on better terms than at the airport) as well as making the ticket payment with a credit card (VISA, MASTER CARD).

From Warsaw to Bachotek via Toruń

Train travel within Poland is not expensive, and it is advisable that delegates book first-class accommodation with reserved seats if possible: couchettes and sleeping cars (the latter are single-sex) are available on some overnight trains. Beware of pickpockets: they are known to operate on Warszawa Centralna station on trains arriving and departing from there. Never allow yourself to be forced to pass between two strangers while making your way down the corridor of a train.

The best choice to get close to Bachotek by using a train is to travel to Toruń or even Brodnica. In the PKP railways' time table search for a train connection from Warszawa Centralna to Toruń Główny, or better still, Brodnica.

From Toruń to Bachotek via Brodnica

Once in Toruń, you can get a taxi to the main bus station (ask for “dworzec autobusowy"). It'll cost you 4 to 5 EUR. At the dworzec autobusowy you can get one of the quite frequent buses to Brodnica (see the bus time tables page). Preferable are through-buses with destinations like Nowe Miasto or Olsztyn, as one can ask the driver to stop at the road sign to “Ośrodek wypoczynkowy Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika”, from where it's only about 800 meters (a 9 minutes walk).

If you land at Brodnica (either by bus from Toruń, see above, or by train from Warszawa) then you are almost there, about 7km from Bachotek. You can take a taxi (not expensive, try phoning: 56/9628 or 56/9629 ) or phone the conference bureau for arrangements (0048 56/498-53-84 when calling from abroad or 56/498-53-84 from Poland). If you decided to take this route, drop an email to secretary at gust dot org dot pl, we might help you even further.

Bachotek (the conference venue) can also be reached from a bus stop in Tama Brodzka on foot in about 20 min. Take the road to Nowe Miasto (Olsztyn), pass the lake on your left, go uphill for a while, next turn left by the information table which reads “Ośrodek wypoczynkowy Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika” (see the map).
Here is a Google map showing the “last mile” and the photograph of the “key turning point” at the main, number 15, road to/from Olsztyn.

By car

If you prefer to drive to Bachotek, and are coming from outside Poland, particularly Western Europe, the easiest and fastest connection is using the E30 (A12 in Germany, A2 in Poland) crossing the border at Frankfurt/Oder. The border crossing is fast as due to the Schengen Agreement the passport checks are light. The A2 is a toll road (credit cards are accepted, cash only in PLN [3x32 PLN ~23 EUR]). Leave the highway A2 for E261/S5 to Gniezno. In Gniezno take the 15 to Toruń direction Olsztyn (Bachotek is situated very close to the Toruń-Olsztyn road).

Pay particular attention to speed limits (50 kph in towns/villages, 90 kph outside, 110 kph on expressways and 140 kph on highways like the A2: any/all of these may be overridden by signs). Speed limits are strictly enforced by concealed radar traps, and “no overtaking” zones may be monitored using binoculars! The alcohol limit for drivers is 0.2 promille.

Arrived at the gate?

If yes, try to get into the fenced area of the Bachotek Holiday Retreat. This should be possible even at night, as the porter should always be in his lodge near the main entry gate. Once within, please go to the conference office located at the entrance to the Lecture Hall unless it is deep into the night when the porter will try to help, even if your languages don't match.